August 2009 Archives
Ars Technica reports that Apple is looking into reports of exploding iPhones and iPods.
"Recent press reports concerning 'exploding' iPhones and iPods have the European Commission concerned, prompting the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers to ask Apple about the problem. Apple says it is investigating the reports, though no definitive answers are yet available," writes Chris Foresman.
"These are isolated incidents and... there is not a general problem," Apple said in a statement filed with the Commission. "For the cases which have been reported in the media, Apple [is] trying to get more information on the details of the incidents and will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause."
Coutesy of Wi-Fi Planet.
FCC's review of Google iPhone app rejection marked the beginning -- not the end -- of the open access debate. Get the full story here at InternetNews.com
Mobile ad network AdMob released the results of a survey of 1,000 iPhone, iPod touch and Android users today. The results are pretty telling.
So, for example, it appears that while iPhone owners gab on the phone and take pictures, their iPod touch brethren are busy downloading and installing many more applications--80 percent more, in fact (see graph). Android ('gPhones' like the T-Mobile G1) and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month.
It's telling how Android and iPhone smartphones owners download around the same number of applications. This is particularly interesting because the iPhone's App Store is far more populated with software than the Android Market.
The survey also found that iPod touch users really like their free apps, with 22 percent of them downloading more than 20 of them per month. Meanwhile, iPhone users download an average of 2.6 paid apps per month versus 2.0 for iPod Touch users and 1.0 for Android users.
According to the AdMob, upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when respondents were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app, especially for the iPod touch owners--70 percent of which bought their paid apps after upgrading from the free version to 52 percent for the iPhone and 54 percent for Android.
Another highlight of the report: 90 percent of users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer. No surprise there, really. Making search, discovery and installation on the iPhone and iPod touch easy is exactly what enabled Apple to revolutionize the mobile app market.
As a result, Apple forced every other major platform vendor, new and old alike, to come up with their own variations on Apple's formula for presenting and distibuting mobile applications. So you've now got, for example, Palm with the webOS App Catalog, Google with the Android Market, RIM with the BlackBerry App World,and Microsoft with the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
Lastly, the survey found those who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month. That's got to be music to developers' ears.
See here for the full AdMob report.
[via Sillicon Alley Insider]
Microsoft today rolled out a software developer kit to allow developers to integrate its Bing search engine--for Web, images, videos, news and phonebook results--into their iPhone and Mac applications.
While Google is the default search engine for the iPhone, users can easily switch to Yahoo. There's no option for changing it to Bring, however, and today's development doesn't change that, of course.
This isn't Microsoft's first foray into the iPhone. Last December, it released its first iPhone app, Seadragon, which allows users to easily and smoothly browse and manipulate large numbers of hi-res images on their Apple smartphone. And, in a corporate setting, iPhone users can access their Exchange e-mail thanks to Microsoft ActivSync integration.
[via PC World]
Facebook 3.0 for iPhone is out, according the app's developer, Joe Hewitt. If you've had no luck finding it in App Store (on PC or iPhone), you are not alone. It is there, though.
You see, on the PC if you click to download the app, you'll get version 3.0 even though the App Store's Facebook app page is still for version 2.5. If, like with me, Facebook 3.0 isn't appearing as an update on the iPhone, try deleting it and then looking for it at the App Store again.
Like with the PC, the app's page will say Facebook 2.5. However, when you download and install it, what you get is Facebook 3.0.
I have to say, Facebook 3.0 is a major improvement over the original. It is elegant, easy to use and places a lot of information at your fingertips. The software is also much faster than the previous edition. It is a vast improvement. You even get landscape mode!
Below is a list of features (from the Facebook for iPhone Facebook page) that will, eventually, appear in the "What's New" text for Facebook 3.0 on the App Store:
- See your upcoming Events and RSVP
- See your friends' birthdays
- See Pages and post updates and photos to Pages you administer
- Write Notes and read your friends' Notes
- Upload videos from an iPhone 3GS
- Upload photos to any album
- Complete photo management (create albums, delete albums, delete photos, delete photo tags)
- Change your Profile Picture
- Zoom into photos
- Like posts and photos
- See the same News Feed as the Facebook website
- Visit links in a built-in web browser
- See all of your friends' friends and Pages
- See mutual friends
- Easily search for people and Pages
- Make friend requests
- Become a fan of Pages
- Quickly call or text your friends
- Create shortcuts to your favorite friends and Pages
- Friends sorted by first or last name according to your settings
- Chat friends sorted alphabeticaly
Yelp (free, available here) is social networking service that pools ratings and reviews from users to help folks find places to eat, shop, drink, relax, entertain and play. Popular among iPhoners, the application will even map out the locations of businesses.
The latest version of the Yelp for the iPhone contains an unexpected (and hidden) treat: It is first Augmented Reality app available for U.S. customers in the iTunes App Store. Metro Paris Subway was the first augmented reality app for the iPhone.
With Yelp 3.0, shake your iPhone three times to bring up a view, called Monocle, that marks and lists rated businesses for users on top of the iPhone's camera view. It does all this in real time, live (see above picture from blogger Josh Bancroft).
Apparently, the feature, which leverages the iPhone's GPS and compass capabilities, only works with the iPhone 3GS. Yet another reason for me to want to upgrade once the contract for my current iPhone runs out.
Developers Layar and Wikitude each offer augmented reality apps for Google's Android platform, but not yet for the iPhone. Although these companies are based in Europe, their apps are said to include U.S. content.
In related news, Yelp is now available RIM BlackBerry and the Palm Pre. Both are reportedly much more basic than the version for the iPhone, focusing on the apps core features rather than interactivity. You can get the BlackBerry edition of Yelp by pointing the smartphone's browser to http://m.yelp.com and the version for the Palm Pre through the device's App Catalog.
[via Robert Scoble via ReadWriteWeb]
Reuters, among other sources, reports that China Unicom, which is scheduled to post financial results tomorrow, may announce an agreement to bring the iPhone to China at that time as well.
Rumor has that China Unicom and Cupertino inked the deal to offer Apple's smartphone to the carrier's 150 million or so subscribers about a week and half ago. Deutsche Bank estimates that China Unicom's number of customers should jump to 250 million in a little over half a decade.
Apple supposedly has two iPhone models in the works for China¡one with and one without Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi-less iPhone would likely result from the Chinese government's Golden Shield Project, which is the name of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security's Internet censorship and surveillance program.
Apparently, data flowing over a Wi-Fi is more difficult to track than information going to and fro over a cellular-wireless data network for the Chinese government, which, as you already know, likes to keep an eye on what its people are up to.
The iPhone launched over two years ago and Apple's yet to crack the world's largest cell phone market, at leat offcially. To do so could help Apple close the gap between itself and wordwide smartphone leaders Nokia and RIM.
According to a Canalys report, Nokia accounted for 44 percent of all smartphone shipments worldwide, followed by RIM with 21 percent and Apple with 14 percent.
As a platform, Apple and the iPhone came in third with the same percentage market share, to RIM BlackBerry's 21 percent and Symbian's 50 percent share. Microsoft garnered nine percent with Windows Mobile and Google accounted for 3 percent of the smartphone market with its Android platform. That number should rise as more Android-run devices see the light of day.
40 percent of all smartphones shipped sported touch screens.
In North America, the iPhone came in second with 23 percent of the market, less than half RIM's 52 percent share. HTC, which ships both Windows Mobile and Android smartphones under its own and other brands, accounted for 5.6 of the North American market.
[via All Things Digital & TMCNET]
Enjoy the huge storage capacity of your iPhone Classic or the ultra-portability of the iPod nano, but wish you could sometime use them to snap a picture? If so, you may soon be in luck.
While we already knew Apple may announce a new edition of the iPod touch with a camera at its September 9th music event, rumor has it Cupertino may unveil integrated cameras across most of its upcoming iPod models, including to the iPod nano and iPod classic series, as well. The shuffle, it appears, will be left out of the fun.
According to Digitimes sources:
OmniVision will be the sole supplier of 3.2-megapixel CIS products for new iPod nano, iPod classic and iPod Touch models which will be launched in September, the sources indicated.
In addition to OminVision, Apple's turned to Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Vanguard International Semiconductor for CIS products to use in the iPhone 3GS and, presumably, if this rumor is accurate, its iPod devices.
Sure, a camera in the iPod Classic--my iPod of choice--would be welcome and convenient. I'd rather see Apple boost the storage capacity of its lone surviving hard drive-based MP3 player back up to 160GB from the current model's 120 gigs, if not higher, however. You can never have too much storage in my book.
Both a camera and added storage would be icing on the cake though.
[via the iPhone blog]
This book caught my eye in a Barnes & Noble the other day. I think it may be useful to iPhoners who would prefer to their app collections be curated by a single individual (author Josh Clark) in paper or eBook form rather having to sift through the millions of comments on the iPhone App Store or scour the thousands of posts and articles written by us bloggers and tech journalists of the world. From what I can tell, however, it is likely more useful as a compliment rather than an alternative to these other sources. After all, with new apps joining the ranks of iPhone and iPod touch applications all the time, it would seem that 'Best iPhone Apps: The Guide for Discriminating Downloaders' and the "200 gee-whiz apps" it shines a light on could become dated fairly quickly. The publisher writes on its site that the apps the book covers can help you:
•Get stuff done
•Connect with friends
•Play games
•Juggle documents
•Explore what's nearby
•Get in shape
•Travel the world
•Find new music
•Dine out
•Manage your money ...and much more.
See here for O'Reilly's full description of the book, which goes for $19.99 in print, 15.99 as a PDF eBook, and $21.99 for those who would prefer both versions.
VAT & Discount (free, available here) is an app enables you to know the amount of VAT (Value Added Tax), calculate a discount, and determine the percentage difference between the two amounts. The app works offline, so no wireless connection is required. The app is divided into five parts: Calculating Discount; VAT Calculator; Increase Percent; Percentage Difference; and European VAT Rates. See here to learn more.
The official Wikipedia Mobile app for the iPhone is now available through the iTunes App Store. It promises to put the tons of useful and useless information available at the full Wikipedia site right in the palm of your hand. You can check the free 1.6MB application out here. Unlike the mobile edition of the Wikipedia site, the new app lets you save you search history. The application is 100% open source and was community built using Rhomobile's Rhodes application development framework for smartphones. Wikipedia Mobile joins the over 100 additional Wikipedia applications, some of which are more full featured (and paid), already posted to the App Store.
Pretty soon we intend to replace the broken display of an iPhone 3G with a brand new screen from DirectFix.com. Below is a video that outlines the process we plan to follow in detail. It shows you how to perform a complete screen repair. The steps shown apply equally to the new iPhone 3Gs as the iPhone 3G. Whether you need a screen replacement now or may need to later, it is worth checking out. The procedure doesn't look all that difficult.
Apple's In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic deliver excellent sound and do a good job of blocking unwanted noise. So good, in fact, I'm willing to keep using them in spite of one particularly problematic issue. You see, at least once a day I'lll end up having to pull one the headphones' soft, silicone ear tips (see above) out of my ear.
That's right, the headset sometimes gets a little too close for comfort. It is, apparently, so good that my left ear (and it is almost always my left ear) occasionally doesn't want to let the headphones go.
It doesn't matter which ear tips I use--be it the small, medium or large ones--or how much time I've spent cleaning them. No matter what I do the problem still pops up (not out) every once in a while.
The next thing I know I'm digging a tip out with my fingers. Fortunately, the ear tips never become so buried that they are difficult to remove.
The picture below is a self portrait of the last time one of the tips became temporally stuck. To me, this is a minor annoyance; at least it became one once I realized a stuck tip would come out every time. Others may find having to pick a piece of plastic out of their ear every once in a while intolerable, however.
Anyone else run into this problem?
You can learn more about Apple's $79 In-Ear headphones, including fulll specs, here.
Due to a glitch in an iPhone OS 3.0 search feature, handset owners are claiming that "deleted" e-mails can rise from the trash bin.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) last month released version 3.0 of the iPhone's software, including the new Spotlight search feature that enables users to quickly to find apps, notes, e-mails, calendar events, contacts, music and other media files. According to reports, the Mail app in iPhone and iPod Touch devices doesn't actually delete e-mail entirely because they can be retrieved using Spotlight.
Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
The turn-by-turn app for the iPhone marks the latest effort to capitalize on booming interest in location-based services.
Turn-by-turn navigation is here for the iPhone, now that GPS firm TomTom's iPhone app is available in the Apple App Store.
The TomTom app costs $99.99 and uses the GPS chip inside the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G and 3G S to provide real-time navigation to users -- essentially folding most of the features of a standalone GPS device into the smartphone.
Key features include both landscape and portrait views, points of interest and 3D and 2D maps. It also includes a signature TomTom feature called IQ Routes, which calculates the shortest way to get somewhere based on the actual road speed as determined from a database of millions of drivers. This takes into account obstacles like traffic spikes during a particular time of day when calculating arrival times and optimal routes.
First announced at the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference, the TomTom app uses the current version of the company's mobile operating platform for the iPhone, OS 3.0, which debuted June 17.
Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
In a new profile, Steve Jobs is described as a man of two parts. Apple's public perception is of a similar fissure. Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
99% of iPhone 3GS users are satisfied with their purchase, according to a recent survey by ChangeWave Research and RBC Capital shows. Of those 82% of respondents reported being very satisfied and 17% satisfied. Let's compare that to the survey's findings regarding Palm Pre satisfaction. While Palm’s newest phone performed very well in customer satisfaction, the best ever for the company, it lagged behind Apple's latest model.
45% of Palm Pre users reported being very satisfied to 42% saying they were somewhat satisfied. That's an 87% combined rating to the iPhone 3GS's 99%.
The touch screen, ease of use and fast web browsing for the iPhone 3GS topped users list of likes, while AT&T's network and short battery life were far and away the biggest dislikes.
Facebook software engineer Joe Hewitt announced to the world that version 3.0 of the social networking site's app for the iPhone has been submitted to Apple for approval. He sent the news out via twitter yesterday. Hewitt says he'll posted details and screen shorts of the much-need upgrade here. He can't wait to start working on Facebook for the iPhone 3.1. We can't wait to give 3.0 a try. The ball is in Apple's court, so there's no telling how long it'll be before the application posts to the App Store. Hopefully it will be soon.
Back when Apple announced iPhone OS 3.0, AT&T promised it would deliver support for mu
With OS 3.0, released in June, Apple finally brought suppport for MMS (multimedia messaging) to the iPhone. MMS allows you to send video a pictures from one phone to another via text message. Although AT&T supports the feature with other handsets, the carrier announced it wouldn't be able to do so for the iPhone until later summer. AT&T said it would have to complete "some system upgrades that will ensure our customers have the best experience with MMS" first.
With late summer here, and fading quickly, a number of iPhone users have grown impatient. As a result, two class action suits have been filed against AT&T and Apple in this country.
One, filed in the Southern District of Illinois, claims the two companies misrepreented when MMS would arrive. The other lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana, while similar to the first one, also accuses AT&T and Apple of violating the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act.
See here to learn more about these cases.
In a recent blog post, David Pogue of The New York Times said that Google is working on a Web app version of its Google Voice service for the iPhone. Sure, it's not the native app Google Voice users were hoping for—and was rejected by Apple to much controversy—but it just might fit the bill.
Google Voice is a really cool free phone-management system that, among other things, provides you with a phone number that you can then channel all your other phone numbers (mobile, landline, work, etc.) through. You can add and remove phone numbers at will, which is very useful for folks like me who go through a lot of mobile handsets.
The service also automatically records and transcribes voice messages, can record and transcribe conversations, allows for 2-cent international calls, and enables you to send free text messages.
It is expected the browser-based edition of Google Voice will provide the same functionality as the version recently nixed by Apple for inclusion on the iPhone App Store: Not only that, Apple then kicked off a pair of apps, GV Mobile and Voice Central, already on the App Store that they'd approved months before.
As a result, Apple's faces an uproar from iPhone users and the blogging community, and has now got the Federal Communications Commission on it and AT&T's case.
Surveillance specialist videoNEXT—a provider of Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) solutions for small businesses, enterprises and the government—has released a trio of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. CAVU, CAVU FREE and CAVU PRO promise to provide remote video monitoring capabilities over 3G and Wi-Fi to Apple's mobile devices.
According to videoNEXT, its SKM is an open, standards-based software solution that works with nearly any IP, digital or analog camera, runs on any Intel or compatible server and uses an organization's existing security and data infrastructure.
It is offered at three levels: SKM-Altus for enterprises, SKM-Stratus for mid tier features and SKM-Cirrus for consumers. CAVU and CAVU PRO require SKM-Cirrus, which runs on a Mac, to manage surveillance video.
For more information, see here.
Here's an interesting, and possibly postive, development after all the hubbub—Google CEO resigning from Apple's Board, the latter rejecting Google Voice, the FCC stepping in—surrounding Apple and Google's relationship lately. Reportedly, a new Google-based Gmail app may soon find its way onto the iPhone App Store.
The program, by Tiverias Apps and called GPush, uses the push notifications capability brought to the iPhone with OS 3.0 to instantly notify Gmail users when they've received a new message. It requires them to access their e-mail through the Apple Mail Client or in Safari.
Word has it the developer s submitted GPush to Apple for approval around a month ago. When, if really, it gets approved, GPush should go for $0.99 for seven days before the price rises to $1.99.
Sling Media is apparently prepping an update to its SlingPlayer client for the iPhone.
An iPhone with Sling Media's SlingPlayer client installed is a great way to access your home TV content when away on business or vacation. With SlingPlayer Mobile installed on an iPhone, those with a Slingbox device attached to their television can view 'placeshifted' cable, satellite, or digital video recorder (DVR) content remotely anywhere in the world through a wireless connection.
Version 1.1, currently making its way through the Apple approval process, would bring 16:9 widescreen support to the iPhone's full 3.5-inch touch screen. It'll also bring DISH Network its own native iPhone browser, so users would no longer need to use the standard TV-browser screen.
Unfortunately for U.S. customers, the submitted international version of SlingPlayer 1.1 may sport a feature not available in the U.S. editoin. It is said to allow users to stream video over a 3G connection, not just Wi-Fi, something AT&T is apparently not very keen on allowing for its iPhone users.
The Sling Player client for iPhone goes for $29.99. See here for more info.
"The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry," wrote Robert Burns in his poem To a Mouse way back in 1785.
This sentiment applies as much to iPhone developers as anyone else. No matter how much you've tested your app, and even if it's been approved by Apple, you sometimes get unexpected results once the program is out in the real world.
For instance, one heavily tested and Apple reviewed app crashed iPhones when users had an earlier version of the software installed.
So what's a developer to do should things go awry? Well, the first thing is to take deep breath. Next, try following the advice developer Emanuele Vulcano. In a iPhoneSDK e-mail group, Vulcano suggested the following commonsense approach:
First, brace yourself for user rage. Customers aren't going to be happy even though you're going to treat this situation as proactively as possible.
Update your application description immediately. Explain what is wrong with the update and why users shouldn't upgrade. Put the word IMPORTANT in capitals.
Submit your bug fix and then contact the escalation/approval team email from the developer help pages. Explain what happened. If your situation is critical, they can speed up the review process. Just take into account any time they'll spend before looking at your e-mail.
See this post at TUAW for more on how to deal with an app emgerency. It also highlights the experience of a developer who went through this particular traumatic experience.
OpenTable extended its dinner reservations application to BlackBerry smartphones a couple of weeks ago. Today, it updated the version for iPhones to 2.0. With OpenTable for iPhone you can make free, instantly confirmed restaurant reservations at over 10,000 restaurants. Plus, OpenTable members earn Dining Rewards Points redeemable for Dining Cheques good at any OpenTable restaurant.
Available here, the upgrade includes a number of features that the company says improves the online dinner reservation experience: So OpenTable for iPhone 2.0 allows diners to:
In a nod to transparency, Apple senior VP Phil Schiller chimed in with a lengthy e-mail to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber regarding issues faced by developers submitting their wares to the App Store—particularly in regard to the problems faced by Matchstick for its Ninjawords dictionary.
Well, it appears Schiller isn't done listening and responding.Mac developer Steven Frank, who is boycotting the iPhone due to Apple's App Store policies, has recieved an e-mail from the Apple honcho. According to a blog posting by Frank, who has not published the letter, Schiller contacted him to basically say, “we’re listening to your feedback” and we are taking the solutions you've suggested seriously, although some of them may not be viable.
As a result of the e-mail, which he found to be "courteous, polite, and reassuring," Frank may have decided to end his boycott of the App Store. Here's what he writes:
There's something to be said about openness breeding good will, kind of like when a politician being forgiven when he admits to an affair rather than covering it up. It looks like Apple's figured that out in regard to the App Store and its thousands of developer partners who stock it up.I laid out my case to the best of my ability, and had a Senior VP from Apple tell me “we hear you”. It seems like at this point, continuing my boycott doesn’t really achieve anything in the grand scheme of things except making my life a bit more miserable. As I tried to explain in my response to Phil, I don’t complain about the things I hate — I complain about the things I love.
So, what do I do now, dear readers? Stick pedantically to my guns? Or take this new information at face value?
If nothing else, I am very grateful that Phil actually took the time to contact me. As I’ve said repeatedly, communication will solve this problem — not silence. Let’s push that communication down from executives-to-bloggers to app-store-to-developers and I think we’ve really got a breakthrough.
Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi reports that Apple with iPhone accounted for close to 8 percent of cell phone industry revenue during the first half of the year. Impressive for a vendor's that's only been the mobile phone market for a couple of years.
Even more impressive, the iPhone is credited with as much as 32 percent of wireless industry profits. "Even if we exclude the operating losses generated by Motorola and Sony Ericsson, Apple still accounted for 25 per cent of industry profits," Sacconaghi wrote in a note to clients.
This is similar to Apple's position in the PC industry, where it earns around 25 percent of profits to a relatively small six percent of revenue, according to the analyst.
Apple's success in the cell phone industry is all about the total platform—software, hardware, and integration—not just the iPhone itself. "With the iPhone and its Apps Store, Apple has established a formidable smartphone ecosystem, which history suggests is very difficult to overcome," Sacconaghi added. "In fact, Apple has the potential to become a de-facto standard of sorts in the consumer smartphone market, much like it became in the portable media player market with iPods, due in large part to its first mover advantage and tight software and hardware integration.
Apple is fifth-largest cell phone vendor, according to Sacconaghi. The leader is very much still Nokia, followed by Samsung, RIM and LG.
[via All Things Digital]
Apple's latest smartphone, the iPhone 3GS, is the first to integrate voice recognition natively. Unfortunately, the technology used in that model is not available to other iPhone models. This leaves an opening for a company like Fonix, which today introduced an app that recognizes speech not just on the iPhone 3GS, but on the iPhone 3G and the first-gen iPhone as well—as long as the user upgrades their device to iPhone OS 3.0.
Fonix iSpeak ($2.99, available here) provides voice dial by name or number and voice confirmation using recorded speech together with text-to-speech. It allows, according to the developer, for nearly hands-free use, as there are no buttons to hold while speaking.
Fonix iSpeak, which requires no training, runs on an iPhone but processes the speech signal through an off-site server.
YouTube today updated its mobile site for accessing videos through smartphone Web browsers.
To access the site, visit youtube.com, which should redirect you to m.youtube.com/, from your phone. From there, you'll be able to long into your account, view favorites, and discover and share new videos just like you would from a PC or Mac.
YouTube isn't about to lose its position as the number one user-generated video site any time soon: It is tops on the desktop and is, surely, one of the most used in these early stages of mobile video consumption as well. Today news is step towards maintaining its current position.
As the YouTube blog posting announcing the improved mobile site says, "It's part of our mission to create the best possible YouTube experience for you, whether you use the site on your computer, in your living room, or on the go.”
Interestingly, YouTube also says the updated mobile site is "designed to access YouTube on smartphones with capable browsers; phones like the iPhone, G1 and Palm Pre.
What? No mention of Windows Mobile, RIM BlackBerry and Symbian/S60 (mostly Nokia) smartphones? It is likely users of many of the devices running on these mobile platforms will be able to take advantage of the updated YouTube mobile site, in spite of what was surely an unintentional minor snub.
Shoot it! ($0.99, available here) is a new application for the iPhone that allows users to take a picture, create a personal message, and have it mailed as a real postcard from anywhere to anyone in the world. Sounds like a great way to stay in touch with family and friends when you're on your next business trip.
Select a picture from your camera roll or take a new picture from within the app, pick the recipient addresses from your iPhone contacts, then type your message. LLC says the resulting postcard is printed and mailed the next business day.
The app only comes with one free postcard, however. After that you must pay 99 cents for U.S. addresses, $1.25 for UK addresses and $1.50 for other Western European addresses. Quantity discounts start at ten postcards.
In the coming weeks, LLC plans to make shoot it! available for several Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile smartphones.
The other day, I went to type Beatles for a search in the iPhone's Safari browser. Guess what? The iPhone did not recognize the word. Instead, it suggested Beagles. Today, I tried again. You know what came up this time? Nestles. One more try and, as it is supposed to do, the iPhone finally recognized the name of the biggest band ever. You would think the word Beatles, with all the cultural significance surrounding it, would merit automatic inclusion in the iPhone's spelling dictionary.
Then again, Apple, Inc. and Apple Corps., The Beatles company, have long had— let's put it this way—a somewhat adversarial relationship. That is, until recently. As the longstanding trademark infringement lawsuit between The Beatles and the Mac, iPod and iPhone maker was finally settled in February. Among other things, this should eventually lead to the band's albums making their way to iTunes, perhaps sooner than later.
You see, as most Beatles fans know, the Fab Four's collected works is getting a major overhaul, due for release on September 9th. This is the first (official) remastering of the all the group's music since its albums arrived a little late to the CD boom back in 1987.
You are also likely aware that The Beatles albums have yet to be released in a digital-file format, most notably through the glaring absence of the band's albums from iTunes. This is almost as bad as coming late to the record industries CD party in the 80s and 90s.
There's every reason to believe this may change with September's catalog update. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole shebang were launched on iTunes, not to mention on other online music services, at or near the time it makes its way retailers that sell CDs.
Perhaps, by then, maybe with the next iPhone OS update, Apple will see fit to add Beatles to the iPhone's spelling dictionary.
Piper Jaffray analyst spills a few more beans on Apple's rumored tablet PC -- which could be becoming the company's worst-kept secret. Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
MobileIron's Virtual SmartPhone Platform attaches to a company’s IT infrastructure to provide data-driven device management and cost control. The solution supports three of today's top mobile platforms, including the iPhone, with more to come soon.
The challenges facing IT in managing and integrating smartphones into the enterprise grows more complex and, in many cases, overwhelming all the time. The latest company to answer the call to battle is a startup called MobileIron, which launched its Virtual SmartPhone Platform today.
This solution comes in the form of an appliance that you plug into your enterprise's IT infrastructure. Once the appliance is attached, the Virtual SmartPhone Platform can be up and running in less than an hour to monitor employees' smartphone usage, according to MobileIron.
It said the appliance combines data-driven mobile device management with real-time wireless cost control. MobileIron's platform does this creating a central view of smartphone content, activity, and applications in the data center. That way both IT and end-users can gain insight into usage, and control over security and cost.
Features of the Virtual SmartPhone Platform include security, device, and application management; the creation of an enterprise data boundary for employee-owned smartphones; real-time usage alerts for roaming and cost control; operator service quality monitoring; and the installation of MobileIron's MyPhone@Work end-user application on corporate smartphones.
MyPhone@Work is an application that installs as a client on smartphones to integrat them into your company's mobile operations. It links a handset into the Virtual SmartPhone Platform to get it up and running on your company's network. This provides the smartphone with access to email and network resources and allows end users to access a enterprise's recommended applications. It also allows for the testing and profiling of network connection speeds.
The iPhone version of the MyPhone@Work.
With the above services in place, MobileIron contends organizations can get their smartphone operations under control quickly and securely; cut enterprise wireless bills by up to 20 percent; and drive the adoption and productivity of smartphones up.
PDAStreet asked MobileIron CEO Bob Tinker to elaborate on how exactly the platform works as an appliance that plugs in to the corporate IT infrastructure. Tinker said that when the Virtual SmartPhone Platform is plugged into the datacenter, "a small client is downloaded over the air to each smartphone." Then, he added, "data from the phone is cloned back up to the data center so there's always a central view of smartphone content, activity, and applications."
The platform is currently compatible with the BlackBerry, iPhone (see top image), and Windows Mobile smartphone operating systems. Support for the Symbian and Android platforms will, according to MobileIron, arrive soon. No word on when or if Palm's fledgling webOS will be supported.
"Smartphones are no longer phones - they are computers. Enterprise data is moving to the smartphone," said Tinker when we asked him to speak to the advantages for his company's platform and how it stacks up to other mobile device management solutions. "Device management alone can't handle the new security and wireless cost challenges this creates."
"Companies need to know what data is on their phones and how those phones are being used so they can manage security and cost in real-time," Tinker elaborated, as he went on to assert that the "Virtual SmartPhone Platform is the first solution to provide this visibility and control."
Tinker went on to explain how MobileIron took an ask first, develop later approach to creating the Virtual SmartPhone Platform. In other words, the startup listened for what enterprises were looking for to help them manage smartphones before creating the platform. As a matter of fact, it was this very approach that led the development to take the data-centric approach it did with its platform.
"We talked to customers for six months before we even started writing code or looking for funding," noted Tinker. "The original insight that 'it's all about the data' came from one of those discussions and set the stage for the development of the MobileIron architecture."
When MobileIron went out looking for funding, it found a trio of venture capitalists to foot the bill to the tune of $9 million so far.
"We are funded by Sequoia Capital, which funded Cisco, Google, and YouTube, Norwest Venture Partners, which funded PeopleSoft and Airespace, and Storm Ventures, where MobileIron was incubated," Tinker said. "In fact, these were the first three VCs we showed the deal to and they all said 'yes', which is quite unusual and speaks to the opportunity in enterprise mobility and the unique approach of MobileIron."
MobileIron unveiled a pair of customers with today's launch announcement—in fact, these companies, Fenwick & West-a technology and life sciences law firm-and Windsor Foods, are the first to implement the Virtual SmartPhone Platform.
"Smartphones will become more important to our business than laptops," said Fenwick & West CTO Matt Kesner. "MobileIron's virtual data architecture gives me the insight I need to make sure we're in charge, not the carrier."
Meanwhile, Windsor Foods VP of information technology Stephan Henze noted how the Virtual SmartPhone Platform provides his company with the tools to not just manage smartphones today, but to also plan for the days ahead. According to Henze, "MobileIron lets us do what we need today, like asset management and smartphone troubleshooting, but also future-proofs our mobile strategy for tomorrow."
Virtual SmartPhone Platform's Dashboard to give IT an snapshot of overall smartphone operations.
In addition to these initial customers, MobileIron announced partnerships with six mobility integrators today. These partners include Cellular Optimization, Info Plus International, Invisible IT Mission Critical Wireless, Mobility Partners, and Unwired Revolution.
"MobileIron's technology solves multiple issues for our customers," said Mission Ciritcal Wireless president & CEO Dan Croft in a statement. "MobileIron's unique virtual phone data architecture expands the set of services we can offer to help our enterprise customers aggressively take control of their mobile operations and costs."
Nod to transparency a welcome change of pace—although Phil Schiller places the blame for the controversy squarely at the developer’s feet.
Earlier this week, Daring Fireball's John Gruber posted a story about an iPhone developer with a program, Ninjawords ( a Wiktionary-based dictionary) that got caught up on the wrong side of Apple's App Store approval process. The article was about how the developer needed to nix "objectionable" words to make it onto the App Store. Like Gruber, we (as did many others) used this incident to further illustrate (as the rejection of Google Voice did the week before) Apple's often confusing and seemingly capricious standards for acceptance into its storefront for iPhone and iPod touch applications.
Well, surprise, surprise. To its credit, Apple did not sit silently on the sidelines this time around. Rather, Apple senior VP Phil Schiller (see picture from Apple) sent a lengthy e-mail to Gruber explaining his company's actions.
While Schiller did address the Ninjaword's incident in detail, doing a good job of setting the record straight, he, unfortunately, did not use the opportunity to comment on the myriad of other problems faced by developers with the App Store's submission and approval process—although Schiller did admit that the process isn't perfect and there is room for improvement.
As for the Ninjawords case, it turns out the Apple reviewer did not require the developer, Matchstick, to remove the objectionable words. Yes, it intially rejected Ninjawords because some words, in Apple's view, went beyond the swear words found in other approved dictionaries. But rather than ask the developer to filter words, Apple suggested Matchstick wait and resubmit Ninjawords when a ratings system with parental controls was put in place with the debut of iPhone OS 3.0.
Here’s what Schiller said in his e-mail:
Contrary to what you reported, the Ninjawords application was not rejected in the App Store review process for including common “swear” words. In fact anyone can easily see that Apple has previously approved other dictionary applications in the App Store that include all of the “swear” words that you gave as examples in your story.
The issue that the App Store reviewers did find with the Ninjawords application is that it provided access to other more vulgar terms than those found in traditional and common dictionaries, words that many reasonable people might find upsetting or objectionable. A quick search on Wiktionary.org easily turns up a number of offensive “urban slang” terms that you won’t find in popular dictionaries such as one that you referenced, the New Oxford American Dictionary included in Mac OS X. Apple rejected the initial submission of Ninjawords for this reason, provided the Ninjawords developer with information about some of the vulgar terms, and suggested to the developer that they resubmit the application for approval once parental controls were implemented on the iPhone.
As Matchstick did not know exactly when this would happen, the developer decided it could not wait due to competitive reasons. So it filtered out the words in question to get Ninjawords up on the App Store sooner than later, as Schiller points out:
The Ninjawords developer then decided to filter some offensive terms in the Ninjawords application and resubmit it for approval for distribution in the App Store before parental controls were implemented. Apple did not ask the developer to censor any content in Ninjawords, the developer decided to do that themselves in order to get to market faster. Even though the developer chose to censor some terms, there still remained enough vulgar terms that it required a parental control rating of 17+.
Huh. It still required the 17+ rating? There's no reason that even after Matchstick removed the objectionable language Apple found offensive that it should still have received the 17+ rating, especially since it had approved other dictionaries with those words. Somehow Schiller places the blame for the rating on the developer, however:
You are correct that the Ninjawords application should not have needed to be censored while also receiving a 17+ rating, but that was a result of the developers’ actions, not Apple’s. I believe that the Apple app review team’s original recommendation to the developer to submit the Ninjawords application, without censoring it, to the App Store once parental controls was implemented would have been the best course of action for all; Wiktionary.org is an open, ever-changing resource and filtering the content does not seem reasonable or necessary.
Schiller's chiming in on the matter is a move in the right direction for Apple. Let's hope it is an opening salvo towards increase transparency regarding the App Store on the company's part.
See here for Schiller's full e-mail.
Most of us require a little help to stay on task. With all the great (and distracting) apps out there, sometimes the iPhone makes that hard to do (pun intended). Well, Dave Caolo, over at TUAW, is touting a task manger/to-do list app for Apple's mobile devices that just may be the thing you need to keep you on task.
Called, aptly, Put Things Off, the program takes a cue from traditional notebooks—the paper and pen kind. A platform many of us iPhoners, like it or not, can more quickly take notes and enter text on.
The review points out that some folks say Put Things Off is under-featured. For Caolo's $2.99, however, the app fulfills its purpose with perfection. He writes:
It only makes sense that I'd love the app from a man who shares my love of paper. Put Things Off for iPhone and iPod touch is a mobile productivity app that I'm happy to use. The initial window (see gallery below) is nice and sparse. To add a new task, click the arrow and type something brief like "Email Tom Re: website." Select a due date and hit Save.
Put Things Off, which features a lot of animation, sports a one-touch, tray-based filing system and an "auto nag" system that moves tasks you put off automatically back to you today tray after three days or other pre-determined amount of time..
You can learn more about and download Put Things Off here at the iTunes App Store. Check out the video here to see the task manager for the iPhone and iPod touch in action.
BillShrink.com has pulled together an apples-to-apples comparison to help consumers determine exactly how much it costs to switch to one of today's newest and most-sort-after smartphonse—be it the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, the Palm Pre, or the iPhone 3G S.
All of these smartphones go for the same $199 with a two-year contract. However, the total cost of ownership differs considerably over a couple of years. See below for a cost comparison. It is a contest that the new Google Android phone models wins by a considerably margin, followed by the Palm Pre and then, in last, the iPhone 3G S.
--MyTouch: $1998 - 1000 minutes/month + unlimited data and messaging
--Palm Pre: $2359 - 900 minutes/month + unlimited data and messaging
--iPhone 3G S: $2839 - 900 minutes/month + unlimited data and messaging
After the break is an infographic that comprehensively compares these smartphones feature sets. Notice the difference in the number of apps available in each platform's application stores.
Electric Pocket, been developing smartphone apps for well over ten years, this week released its first iPhone application. PhoneFace ($0.99, available here) is a speed-dial application that uses your friends' pics to launch calls, texts or e-mails. It also will sync with your friends' Twitter profiles so PhoneFace will always be updated with pics chosen by your friends. If you don't have a pic of your friend and they don't have a Twitter profile, you can always assign to them one of the avatars designed specifically for PhoneFace.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could prop up your iPhone and use it just like personal navigator—say a TomTom, for instance? It is well known that TomTom is preparing an application to just that. It said so, after all, when presenting during Apple's June World Wide WWDC keynote address. What isn't known is when exactly the navigation specialist plans to release the program, although it did say summertime, which is quickly coming to a close, and how much it would cost.
Well, we may now be a little clearer on the former. According to recent rumors, TomTom for the iPhone will be priced in the neighborhood of £113.85 (around $194). This would include not just TomTom's mapping and navigation software but also a special car kit to dock and charge the iPhone, boost audio and the GPS signal, and provide for hands-free calling.
If accurate, the TomTom solution would be on the pricey side. A sofware only navigation solution from Navigon, Mobile Navigtor, goes for $70 through the middle of August on the App Store, for instance, and you can even pick up some standalone TomTom models for less, in some cases a lot less.
Expect TomTom to release a software-only version of its iPhone solution, in addition to the hardware/software package, to bring the cost in line with Navigon solution.
As is pointed here, there's still open questions about how a TomTom navigation solution would work.
For instance, the iPhone still does not support multitasking for third-party applications. Imagine being on a road trip, using your iPhone as a personal navigator, only to receive a phone call that throws your route into disarray. Sure, TomTom could easily pick up where you left off, but what if you've already missed an important turn. This wouldn't be a problem with standalone personal navigators.
Sure, Apple's capricious App Store rejections are a pain, but it hasn't stopped developers from submitting their wares at a faster and faster rate. After all, demand for iPhone applications is a phenomena never seen before in the smartphone or handhelds space. For instance, Flurry, an analytics firm that provides statistics to mobile developers, recently revealed that the App Store now contains over 65,000 applications. That's an increase from 25,000 apps in January. Astonishing. At this rate, the Apple's mobile application market could easily surpass the 100,000 mark before the end of the year. Also, according to Flurry, development work for Google's Android platform is ramping up considerably, outpacing growth for the iPhone even. Get the full story here at Mashable.
Palm says the company is hindering trade by blocking iTunes sync with the Pre. Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
iSuppli predicts that over the next few years shipments of embedded pico projectors, in mobile devices like smartphones, will skyrocket from a negligible number today to more than 3 million units in 2013.
So, according to the research firm, you may eventually no longer need your laptop or a full-size projection system to give a presentation. Rather, all that'll be required to get your point across to a roomful of people is a smartphone and white wall.
Despite their small sizes, pico projectors produce large displays, with some capable of showing bright, 50-inch diagonal images on a wall or other surface, according to iSuppli. As a result, they can overcome the limited screen-sizes of handhelds to allow people to use their mobile devices to give presentations or, it would seem, show a movie or slide show.
Get the full story here at PDAStreet
The Square credit card reader is an accessory (see above) that turns iPhones and iPod touches into terminals for cashless transactions. It is currently being Alpha tested at Self Edge in NYC. :
Here's how the retail solution works:
First, you plug a small plastic reader or dongle into an Apple device's headphone jack. This allows you to swipe and read credit cards. The rest of the transaction data is entered into the iPhone manually.
After that, the customer uses his or her finger to enter her signature. They receive an e-mail receipt with a handy map showing the location of the store they made their purchase on a map (see below).
Meanwhile, Square processes the transaction for a fee and transfers funds to the store's banking account.
See here for more information.
Among several new peripherals introduced by Kensington this week, there's one that caught our attention as being attractive for iPhone, iPod touch and iPod nano users. It is a docking station that will not only charge your Apple device, but powers up a second battery at the same time. The Kensington Charging Dock with Mini Battery Pack's second battery promises to extends play time up to 30 hours of music; 6 hours of video; and 3 hours of talk. Not bad. Available for pre-order, the device goes for $69.99. See here for more information.
At $99, the iPhone 3G is a terrific deal. At over a year old, it's getting a bit long in the tooth for a smartphone, however. So, it appears, Apple may be in the process of phasing the iPhone 3G out, perhaps in favor of a 8GB version of the iPhone 3GS. Several tips and leaked images to the BGR indicate that's exactly what Apple will be doing for Rogers; so why not AT&T? Today, the lowest-capacity and cheapest iPhone 3GS you can get is the 16GB model. So there’s certainly room for an 8GB model that sells for, say, $100 less. Get the full story here.
As the two heavyweights' businesses converge and regulators raise troubling questions, Schmidt bows out. Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
Barnes & Nobile doesn't do it. Amazon.com doesn't do it. Heck, even Wal-Mart doesn do it. Apple, it appears, does do it. What exactly is it that Apple does that these other retailers don’t do? Censor a dictionary.
The iPhone vendor, already under scrutiny for its seemingly capricious App Store approval process, recently rejected the dictionary Ninjawords, which uses Wiktionary as its data sourc, from inclusion in the App Store. That is until the developer, Matchstick, removed words Apple found objectionable.
The whole process from initial submission to approval took three months. And even then, the developer had to accept an app rating which no longer made any sense.
As Daring Fireball's John Gruber wrote, Apple forced the developer to change a dictionary, a reference book for “words contained in all reasonable dictionaries. For words contained in dictionaries that are used every day in elementary school libraries and classrooms.”
Monday, OpenTable plans to extend its free mobile application to RIM BlackBerry smartphones. Like the version available for the Apple iPhone and Palm Pre, the app allows users to view available open tables at nearby restaurants and book them. OpenTable also enables you to get directions and e-mail invites to friends.
Also, using OpenTable for BlackBerry, diners can refine their search by cuisine, price and availability; view restaurant profile pages with detailed information, including photos; and earn Dining Rewards Points on eligible dining times.
OpenTable is a supplier of reservation, table management and guest management software for restaurants, more than 10,000 of them in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Japan. The OpenTable hardware and software system replaces pen-and-paper at the host stand.
There's a mobile-optimized OpenTable site for users of smartphones other than the three platforms mentioned above.
Here are the features of the iPhone edition of OpenTable:
•Find restaurants closest to your current location and see real-time table availability. •Display restaurants on map
•Refine restaurant list by cuisine, price or availability
•View restaurants' menus
•Get directions to the restaurant
•Invite fellow diners via email
•Manage upcoming reservations
Download the iPhone version of OpenTable here at the App Store.
